(2 units)

The course covers some basics of nearshore hydrodynamics, including wave shoaling, wave refraction, and surf zone processes (wave breaking, wave-induced setup, and longshore current). The student will also be introduced to the concepts of coastal boundary layer flows, which determines the driving forces for coastal sediment transport, e.g., bottom friction. Additionally, aquatic vegetation's ability to curb coastal erosion will be discussed.

(2 units)

This course will introduce coastal processes of sediment transport, coastal erosion due to waves, current and sea-level rise, as well as protections against coastal erosion. The students will begin with learning the basic concepts of sediment transport. Fundamental knowledge of typical coastal processes will then be introduced, e.g. cross-shore and longshore sediment transport, the effect of sea level rise on coastline recession, the effects of coastal defense structures on beach morphology, and coastal protection measures such as beach nourishment. In the presence of coastal structures such as seawalls and breakwaters, the scour problem will also be introduced.

(4 units)

The course covers the introduction and analysis of flows in open channels. The basic concepts, the fundamental laws of fluid mechanics (conservation of mass, momentum, and energy), and the hydraulic jump will be introduced, followed by the introduction and analysis of the uniform flow, gradually varied flow, rapidly varied flow, and unsteady flow. The knowledge will be applied to the computation of the flows and designs of hydraulic structures. Analytical and numerical techniques will be discussed, and programming assignments will be carried out in widely-used software.

(2 units)

This course introduces biophysical principles regulating exchanges of water, energy, and elements in the soil plant-atmosphere continuum and their mathematical descriptions. The presented material will address different spatial scales from a single tree up to global scale and different temporal scales from minutes to decades. Essential features of plant microclimate and plant hydraulic transport, soil hydrology, and terrestrial ecology will be introduced. The course will also provide the foundations to carry out numerical simulations of water and carbon fluxes with state-of-the-art models.

(2 units)

Nature Based Solutions for Coastal Protection

This course focuses on marine and coastal environments with an emphasis on salt marshes, seagrass, kelp, mangrove, and coral reef habitats. We will study the carbon and nutrient cycles of these ecosystems and their interaction with the surrounding water environments. We will also discuss how these ecosystems could help mitigate the impact of sea-level rise and climate change. The presented material will cover 1) the role of blue carbon for climate change mitigation targets; 2) the role of aquatic vegetation in coastal erosion; 3) successes and failures of restoration projects.

(4 units)

Climate adaptation projects are implemented in complex socioeconomic and environmental systems and have long life spans, resulting in many uncertainties. Under such conditions, conventional approaches to infrastructure planning and development may not lead to optimal solutions. This course introduces methods and tools for decision-making for climate adaptation. Besides conventional methods, such as cost benefit analysis and multi-criteria analysis applied to climate adaptation infrastructure, the focus will be on flexible solutions that can adapt to changing conditions and new information, such as adaptive pathways and real options analysis. This knowledge is relevant to evaluate many future civil and environmental infrastructure projects.